Abstract: The present study compares fibroblasts
extracted from intact and ruptured human anterior cruciate
ligaments (ACL) for creation of a tissue engineered ACL-construct,
made of porcine small intestinal submucosal extracellular
matrix (SIS-eCM) seeded with these ACL cells. The comparison
is based on histological, immunohistochemical and RT-PCR analyses.
Differences were observed between cells in a ruptured ACL
(rACL) and cells in an intact ACL (iACL), particularly with
regard to the expression of integrin subunits and smooth muscle
actin (SMA). Despite these differences in the cell source,
both cell populations behaved similarly when seeded on an
SIS-eCM scaffold, with similar cell morphology, connective
tissue organization and composition, SMA and integrin expression.
This study shows the usefulness of naturally occurring scaffolds
such as SIS-eCM for the study of cell behaviour in vitro,
and illustrates the possibility to use autologous cells extracted
from ruptured ACL biopsies as a source for tissue engineered
ACL constructs.

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